Cooling ducts are used in conjunction with cooking cavities in cooking ovens to protect temperature-sensitive components (such as electronic controllers, input interfaces and related circuitry) from the cooking cavity. Cooling is also provided to protect the cabinetry from high temperatures that could cause fires. A cooling duct is connected to a cooling fan to draw air through the cooling duct to provide a protecting layer of flowing air. The cooling duct can have an inlet adjacent an outer face, e.g. at the front face or lower rear face, of the cooking oven to draw cool air from the environment in order to protect sensitive circuitry, such as control panels, disposed at the front face of the appliance. The inlet can run substantially the full width of the outer face, e.g. the front face, of the cooking oven so that air can be drawn across substantially the full width. This can be desirable, for example, in case such control panel or other circuitry at the front face of the appliance spans its full width. The exhaust of the cooling fan can be directed upward to the rear of the oven, or in separate ducts forward above the cavity door.
In order for the cooling duct to uniformly thermally isolate the cooking cavity from superjacent structure adjacent the front face of the cooking oven, the air flow through the inlet of the cooling duct should be substantially uniform adjacent either side. With an intake fan centrally placed this is readily achievable. But in some situations, it is advantageous for the cooling fan to be laterally offset at the rear of the appliance; for example so the cooling fan does not interfere with other, more centrally-located structures of the cooking oven. It would be desirable to maintain substantially uniform air flow across the inlet of the cooling duct in this case, and particularly adjacent either side of the inlet.